Portfolio Assignment #7
Posner’s article on supply chains aimed to explore how vast amounts of information are passed through commercial networks and what moral implications exist for this sequence of processes. Posner asserts that software and practices that companies use, like SAP and “black-boxing,” that help to sustain supply chains and global capitalism, conceal not only where commodities come from but the specifics of the labor and environmental processes that took place in order to produce the commodity. Posner’s article was interesting because she approached the topic of supply chains from an angle that the consumer usually doesn’t think about. When we think of the exchange of information that occurs — like being able to track the location of your package before it arrives — much of it is only centered on one aspect: getting to the consumer. Everything else is concealed and companies not only find no fault with that but deliberately do so to protect their own self-interest (so other companies cannot copy their supply chain practices) or simply because they don’t know themselves.
I think Posner definitely highlights how there is a need for greater transparency. New technology like blockchain and IoT, which have the potential to be revolutionary for tracking and verifying the status/quality of products, will only be meaningful if companies are open and honest about their practices. I believe this connects to BBC’s article on tech lust and the environmental concerns it produces. The process of producing these highly demanded commodities like smartphones and TV’s wreak havoc on the environment and many consumers are unaware of the environmental and ethical consequences of acquiring these commodities. I think greater transparency could definitely fix that. Knowing where the materials for the products you buy come from, as well as how it is produced and the implications of such would definitely cause many consumers to change their buying habits or at least demand better practices from companies and corporations.
Ouellete and Arcy explored how the digital realm can be used to engage in feminist action, more specifically feminist self-making and care. Through an analysis of a website designed for teenage girls, called Rookie, Ouellete and Arcy explain how “technologies of the self” are established through new media technologies. I really liked how they viewed self-care through the lens of political warfare. The Rookie website and the space it gives for teen girls to express themselves, collaborate and support one another, and practice political engagement is a great act of defiance against traditional media that increasingly places pressure on girls and women to focus on superficial things and define themselves through the perception of others/society.
I like that they explored how self-mastery is often achieved through presenting the self as a commodity (think branding) and I appreciate how the Rookie website discourages that by making posts/accounts anonymous, and instead encourages true engagement and development of the self that is based on real interactions and self-discovery, rather than external validation. Their exploration of the Rookie website and how its users care for one another connected to the articles on how people are dealing with the quarantine. I thought it was interesting how social media actually has seemed to become more social since social distancing has been implemented. It seems that since life is at a standstill, there is no focus on portraying an image on social media, but rather really connecting and engaging each other.
